Boom! Buys Archaia (UPDATE)

IP is a precious commodity in Hollywood, and now comic book company BOOM! Studios is adding more original properties to its catalog. The award-winning comics and graphic novel publisher behind Universal‘s 2 Guns has acquired Eisner and Harvey Award-winning indie label Archaia Entertainment, which will live on as a BOOM! imprint. Archaia, established in 2002, is known for graphic novels Mouse Guard, Jim Henson’s A Tale of Sand, Rust, Spera, Cowboy, and Gunnerkrigg Court. Now those titles join the fold at BOOM!, which aims to start nipping at the heels of WB‘s DC Entertainment and Disney‘s Marvel Entertainment as the largest independently-controlled comics and graphic novel library in town.

Obviously I think Dark Horse might have to say something about that, with the likes of Hellboy, The Mask, their revived Comics Greatest World line and much more. As may IDW, Dynamite, Oni Press and Bleeding Cool’s owner Avatar in play, there may be some who will argue with Deadline’s spin on this one.

But Archaia do have a number of titles in development for movies, and that does seem to be the way that Boom! is having success right now…